Breaking Point
by SAR132-4
Summary: Ed's a sniper on the SRU, he doesn't have to use lethal force often, but when he does, he crams another ghost into an overflowing closet. Will he be able to reach out and get the help he needs before he reaches his breaking point? Read and review!
1. I'm Fine

**This is the result of**

**Two swollen knees that seem to make me want to stay up until dawn **

**And**

**Something I was thinking about doing for a very long time. **

**So enjoy, my new fan fic! **_**Breaking Point**_

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Ed Lane splashed water into his face and stared at himself in the locker room mirrors. He had killed someone today, again.

Greg walked into the locker room he didn't even say anything; he just sat there, waiting.

"I'm fine," Ed replied, not even looking at Greg.

"You may want to do the math on all the 'I'm fine's," Greg stated before he turned away and left Ed in the empty locker room.

Ed didn't say anything, he just stared at himself in the mirror, willing himself to keep his eyes open, because he knew that if he closed them, he'd see the ghosts, and they'd pull him down into the dark realm of nightmares.

"Ed," Sam walked into the locker room, "we're going to get drinks at the bar, you wanna come?"

"Yeah, sure," Ed replied, "I'll be out there in a bit."

Sam nodded and went out to hold the minivan express.

Ed stared back at the mirror, and instead of seeing himself, he saw the face of the man he shot today. He blinked and the apparition was gone, leaving only a pale and bald sniper in its shadow. Another ghost and another nightmare to contend with.

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**Wow, that was pretty powerful! :) As I said, I was thinking about it a lot, and anyway, this fandom needs a good Ed-centric story! Too many Sam and Jules things flying around here! **


	2. Shooting at the Courthouse

**:) NEW CHAPTER UP! YAY!!! :) :) :). Idk what to say, so I'm just gonna start writing now!**

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The next shift . . .

"Alright everyone! We are covering a court case, its very high profile, the Kitchener Rapist is being tried in our city and it's our jurisdiction," Greg announced at the table, "So Ed, Sam and Wordy will cover the prisoner, Lou, Spike and I will be in the command unit. Jules you're covering the detective, though most people want to cause harm to the rapist rather than the witness, there are still a few fans out there who want to see him go free. So, comments or questions anyone?"

No one spoke up, so Greg continued, "Alright! Let's keep the peace!"

With those words, the team broke up and went to the gear lockers to suit up. They then drove off to the prison where the rapist and detective Sarah Grimley were waiting.

"Come on, let's go," Wordy led the hand cuffed and grinning rapist to the SUV for transport. He grinned even more maniacally at Jules, and she tried very hard to suppress a shudder as she turned her back on him and led the detective to another car.

"She looks like a piece of heaven," the rapist said lustily. Sam's cold glare made him shut up instantly.

"Get in the car," Sam said pushing him in. Ed sat in the back with the prisoner while Sam and Wordy sat up front. They drove off to court.

Soon they reached the courthouse, and a massive crowd had already gathered there, several protesters and grieving families were in the front of the courthouse. As soon as the prisoner was let out, a mass of reporters descended and questions were thrown at him with force.

"How many girls did you rape?"

"Do you feel sorry for what you did?

"Do you think you'll get away with it?"

Microphones were thrust at him, but Ed and Wordy were moving him along with Sam at the front clearing a path.

As soon as Detective Grimley exited the car, she also was inundated by press.

"Do you think he'll get away?"

"What piece of evidence incriminated him the most?"

"I am not at liberty to discuss the case," Detective Grimley stated into the microphones and walked away with Jules.

Court was intense, that was the only word to describe it, both lawyers were fierce in their questionings and cross examinations, but in the end, it took only a few minutes for the jury to reach a verdict.

"We find the defendant, Carl Frankhauser, guilty of rape," the spokesman said.

Word of the verdict reached the storm outside, and a father drew his gun, he decided that even though the rapist was now going to jail, he couldn't stand the creep living any longer. He fought his way to the front of the crowd, and as soon as Carl and his police detail, followed shortly by the detective and Jules he fired at the only opening.

_BAM! BAM! BAM!_

Complete chaos ensued, both the prisoner and the detective dropped to the ground, and seconds later, so did the father, a bullet from Ed's gun ended his life.

The prisoner's wounds were just a shot in the arm and a graze. Detective Grimley was shot in the upper chest, she was bleeding a lot. Jules knelt down and applied pressure to the wound, she looked at Ed who was staring at the dead father blankly, he had dropped the gun.

Jules looked back down at the detective who had passed out, "We need some help over here!"

Finally the paramedics arrived and stabilized the detective and they carried her off to the hospital.

Ed was led off by the SIU, and released an hour later, cleared of all charges.

Though he had been deemed not guilty, Ed felt guilt for ending the life of an innocent person. He was heartened to hear that the detective would live, but he didn't join the team for drinks like he usually did, he got into his car and drove off, or tried to. It was late at night, the darkness closing in on him and it brought back the ghosts. Especially the father he killed today, he stared at Ed through the rear view mirror, his eyes showing blame and hate towards the sniper. His dead eyes full of accusation.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ed yelled grabbing the mirror and ripping it off, he threw it in the back seat and then leaned his forehead against the steering wheel. Finally, he managed to drive home, but that night, he got little sleep.

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**Wo-ow! :O I never knew I was able to portray PTSD, or guilt. Hmm, I guess I'm not an emotionless person after all! **

**So, btw, my Detective Grimley OC person, she's making a return later in this series fyi. That means she isn't gonna die! Yayy! (Though I wish the father wasn't that bad of a shot).**


	3. Target Practice and Broken Glass

**Wow, I've came up with a hypothesis, the Ed fics don't get much hits since it's only based on Ed and not Sam and Jules. Hrmm . . . ah well! I'm writing another masterpiece here! (At least **_**I**_** think that . . .) Okay, just a heads up, I have to go to Yellowstone for 10 days, that means that I won't be able to update since I'll be somewhere in the middle of nowhere! (gawd that sounds like a good title –writes down- ) :) lol, I'll go plug my laptop into a tree and try to get a signal, oh, wait, nvrmnd! I don't have a laptop. **

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Greg got into Ed's car the next morning and saw the sleep deprived sniper at the wheel, and a hastily taped on rear-view mirror. "Car trouble?" he asked motioning to the mirror.

"Yeah," Ed answered, "knocked it off last night by accident."

Greg looked at Ed plainly not believing a word he said. "Ed," he began.

"Look, sarge, I'm fine, it was an accident," Ed interrupted.

Greg looked at Ed, clearly not believing a word he said, but he said nothing, he just looked out the window.

They arrived at headquarters and got into uniform, then Sam proposed to Ed a challenge.

"Hey, Ed, Jules and I were going down to the firing range for a bit of target practice. Wanna join? 20 bucks to the most accurate person there."

Spike looked up, "Hey I'll bet Ed will beat both of you guys' asses, 40 on Ed."

"Let's mix this up then," Lou added with a smirk, "60 on Sam."

"I'm going with Jules," Wordy stated, "100 on Jules."

This statement was followed by "oohs" from the rest of the team.

"Greg, you're the banker in this round as you didn't make a bet," Wordy said handing him a 100.

"Aww, come on guys," Greg said, "we're the SRU, not a pool hall!"

"But bets are fun!" Spike protested pushing the 40 dollars into Greg's hands.

They both left and followed the three snipers down the hall to the range, Greg sighed angrily, "Alright, just this once!"

Lou gave Greg his ante, "Thanks Sarge."

In the firing range, Jules aimed the remmy at the human paper target. She sat there for a few minutes, making minute adjustments to her form and the gun.

"C'mon, we haven't got all day!" Spike complained, he was quickly elbowed by Sam.

"Shut it, she needs to concentrate." Sam whispered back.

Finally, Jules squeezed the trigger, then ejected the cartridge, then squeezed it again, and followed the same routine again and again until she fired 10 rounds into the target. All of them were closely grouped in one enlarged hole, only a little bit bigger than the bullet itself.

"Wow," Spike said staring wide eyed at the target and then at the small sniper.

"Never mess with sierra one," Jules said with a smirk as she unloaded the gun and took off the ear muffs.

"I'll say," Spike replied.

"She hasn't seen anything yet," Sam retorted, he grabbed the gun and put on his ear muffs. Quickly loading the gun, he aimed it at the target and in only about 30 seconds of adjustment time, he fired off 10 shots. One of the bullets went wide, but the rest made a perfect circle about 3 centimeters in diameter.

"Samtastic isn't so Samtastic anymore," Lou looked down in mock sadness, "And now I'm 60 bucks poorer."

"Well, there's one more sniper who can break this tie, let's go Eddie!" Spike said in a patronizing tone, he looked towards Ed. "Eddie?"

Ed started as if snapped out of a trance, and he said, "What?"

"C'mon, it's your turn Ed."

"You okay?" Jules asked.

"Yeah, fine," Ed answered automatically and grabbed the rifle from Sam.

When Jules had fired her first shot, Ed flinched and the ghosts came back to him.

"_So you think this is a sport??! Killing people??_" a voice hissed inside his head, filled with distaste and contempt.

"_You're no worse than that rapist the other day,_"

Ed wanted to shout out, so badly, "Why are you blaming me for doing my job?!" he would have if he was alone, if there wasn't the whole team within earshot of him.

Ed shook his head to clear it and he tried to focus on the target through the rifle scope, but instead of seeing the target, he saw the father he had shot the day before. But the father wasn't holding a gun, glaring at the rapist with contempt. He was smiling happily with his wife and daughter.

Ed's first two shots went wide, and he had to shake his head again and focus on the target, the room was silent. His eight other shots where all over the target, but never hitting the head. With each shot, he saw different people he had killed over the years, all staring at him accusingly. Finally, the ten shots were up and Ed got up abruptly and left the room.

The whole range was silent, you could hear Babycakes dropping a bolt onto the floor it was that quiet.

Finally Spike spoke up, "So, Wordy, I guess, uh, you're 100 dollars richer now. I guess it is Jules day today."

Nervous laughter sounded inside the range. Greg automatically paid Wordy and the team left.

Sam and Jules sat in the gym, and talked about Ed.

"I never seen Ed miss before, not once," Sam said looking towards the locker rooms where he was 100% sure Ed was.

"That's 'cos he never misses," Jules said, "not in the time I knew him."

"I hope he feels better,"

"Look, Sam, I think you should talk to him," Jules said seriously.

"What? I'm the rookie, I'm not going to connect," Sam said, "you've been on the force longer, you know him much better than I do."

"Okay, not one to play the gender card here, especially since it's against me, but I'm a woman, I won't connect to him as well as a man would. You'd be better, and you've been in the army, as a sniper. I think you can talk to him."

Jules's logic was air tight, but Sam couldn't bring himself to talk to the sniper, he wasn't the best at negotiations, and how would he start the conversation? "Hey Ed, I was wondering why you made a fishing net out of that target this morning." Yeah, that wasn't going to work, not at all.

The shift ended peacefully, no calls, and nobody dead.

Ed again stared at himself in the mirror, trying to hold on to his sanity. '_C'mon Ed, this is your job, it's not your fault, it's not your fault,_' but he could see the ghosts glaring at him, accusing him in the mirror.

"DAMMIT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ed slammed his fist into the mirror and the sound of breaking glass resounded through the quiet and almost empty building.

"Ed?!" both Greg and Wordy burst into the locker room. Ed was clutching his bloody fist in his other hand.

Greg stayed a safe distance from Ed, he wasn't sure what his friend would do now, "Hey Eddie, bud, it's me, Greg. Your friend, let's just get your hand checked out."

Ed glared at Greg, "I'll get it checked out at the hospital, just leave me alone."

"Look, maybe I should come with you."

"No, don't alright? Don't." Ed managed to make his way past Wordy and Greg, "I just need some time alone to sort things out." Ed walked out of headquarters and down the street, not even glancing at his car.

He finally stopped a distance away, far from any hospital, and checked his hand in the light of a street lamp. It was bleeding badly, so he wrapped it up in his shirt, and he was now walking around in a t-shirt and jeans. It was chilly but he managed, he finally paid attention to where he was going when he saw the light of a bar and the dark alleys around it.

Three kids in hoodies and jeans were standing around. One of them was smoking while the others were just leaning against a wall talking.

"C'mon guys," one of them was saying, "we have finals coming up, I think we should go."

"_You_ can go Cody, but I'm staying here with Darren the whole night, right Darren?" the man who was smoking slurred. Obviously he was drunk.

"Yeah," Darren agreed, he then looked at Ed, who was walking by. Ed had already seen the three kids and he was on red alert now, even though they were most likely harmless.

The drunk man also had noticed the sniper, and he shouted out, "Hey gramps! What's the time?!" He started moving in towards Ed.

Cody tried to warn the drunk man, "Brandon, drop it, I don't want to go to jail."

"It's the geezer's fault he's being rude," Brandon slurred, he motioned for Darren to block off Ed. A mistake that soon proved to be nearly fatal.

As soon as Darren had moved in front of Ed, Ed attacked, he punched Darren in the jaw, and a crunching noise was heard, Darren fell to the ground, trying to speak, but could only make gurgling noises. Stupidly, Darren tried to get back up, and Ed grabbed the man's arm and twisted it and this time, Darren passed out as his arm made a sickening crunching sound.

"Darren!" Brandon yelled, he launched himself at Ed, and Ed yelled out in fury. He kicked Brandon in the ribs, as Brandon fell, Ed kept kicking him in the head, the back, anywhere exposed. Then he snapped back his fist, hitting Cody who had come up behind him. Cody's nose crunched and he fell to the ground, and Ed fell upon him too, until Cody was still. Ed ran off into the night and down the streets of Toronto. He finally reached a hospital, dazed and confused and wondering what happened. He got his hand treated and left as if nothing had ever happened.

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**Is this turning into War and Peace? Hrmm . . . well, first of all, Ed has PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) if you didn't ALREADY know . . . and hypervigilance is one of the symptoms. **

**Okay, and also, I have a new poll up on my profile, and I'm really wondering what I should name the town in my novel (which takes place in Canada btw) so if you don't mind :) I would really appreciate votes! So I can write more of this thing. And one of my characters looks like Jules :). **


	4. Investigations

**Okay, I should have made this clearer! I'm leaving for Yellowstone on July 20****th****, copy that? I'm coming back July 31. THERE! :) And if I haven't fallen off a mountain, I'll be happily writing this fic in August!**

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_**A few weeks later . . . **_

Detective Sarah Grimley walked into headquarters, her right arm was in a sling, but she was smiling and greeting everyone.

"Morning Detective Hank," she said to a man sitting behind a desk. He looked up at Sarah.

"Well look who's in a good mood today."

"Well, glad to be alive I guess. Luckily the bullet missed all the major blood vessels and any organs. I healed up pretty nicely."

"Well that's good,"

"Detective Grimley, welcome back," Captain Kelly said handing her a file, "here's a welcoming gift."

"Wow, three men assaulted 2 weeks ago on Wellesly Street," Sarah said as she pawed through the photos and evidence collected from the crime scene. "But isn't there already a detective on this case?"

"Yeah, Detective Lake, but he's been having issues with it, maybe the best detective in Toronto can help him out, eh?" he said with a grin.

"Right," Sarah looked up, "well, where's the evidence?"

"I have it," Detective Scott Lake came up from behind carrying a box filled with evidence. "There was an unidentifiable blood sample at the scene of the crime."

"Okay, witness statements?"

"No one saw anything, it was too dark, and two of the victims are still in comas."

"That bad of a beating?"

"I'm not too surprised,"

Sarah had to admit, it was pretty common for one person to be beat into a coma during a mugging but, nothing had been taken from these three kids. And there were three of them, not a lone man walking the streets alone at night.

"What about the other kid? He tell you anything?"

"He didn't tell us, per se, but he did write a statement."

"Why?"

"His jaw was broken,"

"Alright, so let's run the DNA sample through every single database in Toronto, even the law enforcement and rescue squads."

"Wait, you think a cop may have done this?!" Scott exclaimed.

"It's possible, they'd have the training to do this, also check hospital records for anyone coming in at 3 am for injuries that relate to beating or being beaten."

"Okay," Scott left to check the records. In five short minutes, Sarah had taken over the case.

"Sarah's back," Captain Kelly said with a smile and a shake of his head as he went off to his office.

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"Hey Ed, how're you holding up?" Greg asked as the sniper put his gear back into his locker.

"I'm doing fine," Ed said blankly, he didn't tell the sergeant that he didn't get any sleep that night, or that three new faces had joined him.

"Look, Ed, you can drop the act, you aren't fine. You haven't been yourself lately." Greg finally said.

Ed only stared at Greg for a moment before he left muttering an excuse about Sophia wanting him home early.

Greg followed Ed out into the hall, "Look, Ed if you need someone to talk to, I'm always here, you know that."

"I know," Ed muttered as he walked out of the building and into the parking lot.

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"Hey Sarah!" Scott called out as he saw the detective in the crowded halls. "I got something!"

"Scott, what do you have?" Sarah asked running up to him, she was holding a cup of Timmies in her hand.

"You know how you asked about the hospital records?"

"Get on with it Scott,"

"Okay, well, I found that two people were treated at St. Michaels that night at 3 am, one was a Frank Ramiro who had a broken nose, he claimed to have gotten it in a bar fight. Another one was an Ed Lane, his hand was cut up by glass."

"Let's pay Mr. Ramiro a visit," Sarah concluded.

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"Ed," Sophia said, looking at her husband over breakfast the next morning, "what's going on?"

"What?" Ed asked, clearly not understanding his wife's frustrated tone.

"Like you don't know Ed, you come home late, you don't sleep, and when you do you wake up shouting. You don't even try to spend time with Clark anymore. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Soph, just having trouble at work," Ed replied.

"It's sounding a little bit more than trouble Ed, you aren't yourself anymore."

Ed didn't answer, he looked away from his wife and at the stove, she was right, he wasn't himself anymore. '_I'll be better tomorrow,_' he told himself, it was a lie, and he knew it from the first time he thought those words, but it now was a reflex and the more he thought it, the more he felt it was true.

Ed abruptly got up and walked to the door, his car was waiting outside, the only ticket to a safe haven away from the ghosts that haunted him. "Where are you going Ed?" Sophie wanted to know.

'_Make something up Eddie, think bud!_' he thought, '_To Jules's house? To help with renovations? No that'd be too suspicious, maybe hanging out with Spike, no, Wordy, even better._' Ed came up with his excuse, "I'm going to hang out with Wordy, he's having a barbeque today, and I thought I'd drop by."

Ed left before Sophia could argue, and the door slammed behind him. Sophia stared after him, a worried expression on her face.

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"Well that was a waste of time," Scott grumbled as they left Frank Ramiro's apartment.

"I agree," Sarah groaned. They had been held up by Frank for three hours straight as they listened to him curse the justice system and all the detectives. They at least figured out he was at another bar at the time of the beatings. "Well that leaves Edward Lane," she added.

"Isn't Ed Lane that cop from the SRU?" Scott asked.

"Yep," Sarah answered, she shuddered remembering the gun fire that happened at the courthouse, and the pain she was in during the event.

"Sarah, hey, Sarah?" Scott tried to gain her attention.

"Yeah, what?"

"You gonna unlock the car? If you haven't noticed, two detectives aren't exactly welcome in this neighborhood."

"Oh, sorry," Sarah unlocked the door and they drove off towards the station.

"You okay Sarah?"

"Not entirely," she admitted, "I've been having these flashbacks to the shooting at the courthouse."

"Sorry to hear," Scott said.

'_Yep, thanks for helping,_' Sarah thought glumly as she stopped the car in front of the station. But she did feel better admitting her feelings about the shooting.

Suddenly Sarah's phone rang, a shrill beeping sound that made her jump. She answered it, "Detective Grimley,"

"Sarah, where the heck are you!?" came Captain Kelly's voice. "I was thinking Frank Ramiro buried your dead body underneath the floorboards!"

"No such luck Captain," Sarah answered. "Where's the fire?"

"Lab tech's got something," the captain answered. "And he's been calling me for the last 30 minutes," he grumbled.

"Got it," Sarah said, she ran up the steps, Scott following closely behind.

Minutes later she burst into the lab, "Rodney!" She yelled out.

Rodney Evans, a short, gawky and disorganized man who was in charge of the lab leapt up with a start. "Huh?! WHAT?! I DIDN'T DO IT!"

"Do what?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, it's you, sorry," Rodney brushed off his white lab coat, "I got the DNA results back, we found a match."

"Good, does he have any priors?"

"Detective, it's not a criminal, I checked it against the police database, and well, see for yourself," he said handing her a file.

Sarah opened it up, "Oh my god, this can't be happening," she said, her voice cracking.

"What?" Scott looked over her shoulder, he gasped, and his face grew pale as he saw the name.

Ed Lane.

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**O.O I BET YOU DIDN'T SEE **_**THAT**_** COMING!!! OOOHHHH!! Poor Ed. :'( **

**Okay, don't even ask about Scott Lake (and a certain Scott pertaining to a Jules Callaghan), you'll see for yourself next chapter. **


	5. Interviews and Feuds

**Hope you all are enjoying! I'm certainly enjoying writing about Sarah, she's a good detective I think. My idea for her came to me in a dream actually, and then I just kept thinking about it (and really annoying my mom when she tried to teach me chem.)**

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"I can't believe it," Sarah said, "Ed Lane's not a criminal."

"Well, the evidence says he is." Scott responded glumly, staring at the file.

"There must be some underlying reason he did this," Sarah protested, "I mean, he's in the elite Strategic Response Unit! There's no way he could hurt these kids."

"Look, Sarah, I believe you, but the evidence shows that Ed is the perp, and we need to catch him," Scott said.

"Alright, let's get a warrant out for his arrest and interview all the members of the SRU, I want to see why Ed did this,"

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Ed Lane had stopped his car after hours of driving, he looked out over the lake and at the vacation house he and Sophia had bought. The lake was peaceful, and as Ed stepped out onto the gravelly beach, he heard the soft waves lapping on the rocks in the moonlight. It was late at night, 2 at the earliest.

He sat down and let his mind wander, and for the first time in a few weeks, instead of thinking about ghosts and the people he had killed, he thought of his family and the times he spent with them. He nodded off to sleep on the beach, his mind at peace for the first time in a month.

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"I don't believe this, I don't!" Greg yelled slamming the papers onto the floor. Detective Grimley stood her ground as Detective Lake stood uncomfortably, fidgeting.

"Look Sergeant Parker, I know you may know Ed like a brother, but I've got concrete evidence he was at the scene of the assault. There are two kids in comas and one can't even talk, so if you don't mind, I'd like to figure out why," Detective Grimley said.

"Look, maybe if we can figure out why Ed did this, the charges will be dropped, okay?" Detective Lake cut in. He had finally found his voice.

"Okay, what do you need?" Greg collapsed into a chair.

"We need to look through Ed's locker and hold an interview with every officer on his team," Sarah looked at the sergeant.

"Alright," Greg answered.

Detective Lake had walked out of the room to look at the headquarters, it was pretty high tech. As he scanned the officers gathered there, he saw a familiar face, and she saw him too.

"Scott," Jules walked up, "What are you doing here?"

"Something's come up with a Constable Lane," he replied.

"Ed?!" Jules exclaimed in disbelief, half the room had turned to look at Jules and Scott.

Sam walked up, "Jules, who is this?"

"This is Detective Scott Lake, he's my ex-boyfriend. Scott, this is Sam Braddock," Jules explained, glancing uneasily at Sam.

"So, uh, Jules, how's it been going?" Scott asked.

"Look, Scott, what are you doing here, why do you want to know about Ed?"

Scott didn't have a chance to answer before Greg came up to the team gathered there. "Everyone," Greg announced, "something's come up with Ed, these detectives are here to sort it out. They'll interview you all, so please, for Ed's sake, let's be civil." He knew as soon as the detectives started snooping around, members of the team were going to get angry.

Hushed murmurs sounded through the room, no one liked the sound of Ed being in trouble.

"Guys," Sarah said stepping forward, "My name's Detective Sarah Grimley, you may know me from the security detail a few weeks ago. It is in my best interest to help out Edward Lane, but you guys are going to have to help me. We're only going to ask a few questions and that's it."

Some of the officers there nodded, others looked on in disbelief.

"Can you tell us what happened to Ed?" Wordy spoke up.

Sarah sighed, "There are indications that Ed may have been at the scene of an assault."

"What?" half the team exclaimed.

"I know where you're coming from," Sarah said, "Ed saved my life and he's a hero to me, but I've got to get both sides of this story so that I can convince the prosecutor not to file charges."

One by one, members of the team came forward uneasily.

"Thank you," Sarah said, "Detective Lake and I will meet with you one by one."

Spike and Jules came up first, Detective Lake led Jules into the debriefing room while Detective Grimley questioned Spike in the empty halls outside the records room.

"Scott, what's going on?" Jules asked as he sat in one of the swivel chairs. He motioned for Jules to sit. She stayed standing.

"Ed Lane is a suspect in an assault case, what can I say?" Scott retorted, "Now let's make this easier on both of us and you sit down."

Jules reluctantly sat in a chair and continued staring Scott down. "Okay, what are your questions?" she asked coldly.

"Do you know if Ed's been doing any sort of drugs or other illegal substances?" Scott asked.

"No, I don't, do you think he'd tell me any of that?" Jules snapped.

Scott took a deep breath, "Has there been any changes in Ed's attitude, has he gotten defensive or has he been violent towards you or any other team member?"

"Ed's been acting differently lately, he's been zoning out sometimes, and last time we practiced firing, he couldn't even hit the target. When Sam had tried to ask him if he was okay, Ed replied, 'I'm fine'," Jules said.

Scott couldn't bite back the question anymore he just had to know, "Who'd you dump me for?"

"Excuse me?" Jules asked incredulous.

Scott reddened, he tried to stop, but his jealousy was taking over, "Its Sam isn't it? You dumped me for him."

"Scott," Jules began.

"No, don't try to explain," Scott held up his hands, "I loved you, okay, I loved you, and you dumped me for a member on your team." As he said the words, his fury ebbed and he bit is tongue to keep any other comments from escaping.

"We're done," Jules said coldly, and she walked out of the room.

Scott knew the double meaning behind the words and his anger and jealousy returned. "Sam Braddock," he called out into the gym.

Jules's face blanched and she turned on Scott with disbelief, but Scott kept his face smooth.

Sam walked up to the detective, and Scott led him into the room.

"I just have a few questions for you Constable Braddock," he stated looking at Sam.

"Okay," Sam said.

"Do you know if Ed's been hanging out with a rough crowd or anything, like a gang."

"No, not really sir," Sam answered.

"Been hanging out with Jules too much to ever notice your team mate in distress?" Scott asked coldly.

Sam started, "What!?"

"Yeah, I bet you and Jules were all fine, but guess what bud, police rules state that you can't have a romantic relationship with your team member," Scott's voice was rising.

"We ended that relationship a long time ago," Sam said staring Scott in the eye. They both were standing, and both on the verge of slamming their fists into each other's faces.

"Yeah, well I bet you two don't have a problem with staring at each other while one of your teammates are kicking around little kids in the street," Scott found himself shouting.

"That's not my fault," Sam shouted back, "and it's not Ed's fault he needs help."

"Yeah right, I bet he beat those kids into comas just to spite himself! And you know what? He's going to rot in prison, just like a scumbag like you should!"

Scott's final remark caused Sam to explode, he threw himself at Scott, and Scott joined in the fray as well. Suddenly Detective Grimley and Spike were both pinning Scott up against the wall and Wordy had grabbed Sam from behind.

"Everybody calm down," Greg ordered.

_Flashback to Det. Grimley: _

_Detective Grimley was still questioning Spike when the fight broke loose. _

"_Can you tell me how Ed's changed in the last few days?" Sarah had asked. _

"_Well, we used to go out for drinks, him and the rest of the team," Spike explained, "but up until a few weeks ago, he didn't come along, he usually left to go home. But he didn't go home,"_

"_How did you know he didn't go home?"_

"_I pass Ed's house on the way back home from the bar and his car was never there when I drive by. And one night, I saw Ed driving around the streets not going anywhere. Just aimless I guess you could call it," Spike finished._

_Detective Grimley had opened her mouth to ask another question when a commotion broke out, the two cops ran down the corridor and found Scott and Sam fighting each other._

-End Flashback

"Scott, outside now!" Detective Grimley pushed Detective Lake out of the room and soon out of the headquarters. As soon as they were clear of the building, Detective Grimley pushed Scott up against the wall. "What the hell were you thinking?" she snapped.

"He started it," Scott said, sounding like a kindergartener.

"Oh, and so if I question everyone within earshot of your shouting match they'll say it was Sam who started yelling?"

"You heard that?" Scott asked.

"I did, that's why I came running down the halls as fast as I could." Sarah said, "I thought something serious had happened, but it was only a feud between two ex-boyfriends."

"You knew about Jules and me?" Scott asked.

"I knew about it when you two were together, and I knew Jules was in Team One along with Ed. But I thought that you'd be mature enough to keep your personal vendettas out of your professional life. Evidently, I was wrong," Sarah's voice had turned dangerous. She turned away and seemed to think about something for a second.

"Sarah," Scott had started to say, but Sarah cut him off.

"Detective Lake, you are off the case," she said flatly.

"What?"

"You're off the case, now get out of my face, go back down to the precinct and get another case to work on," her voice had turned menacing, "we solve crimes for a living Scott, but we also help people in their time of need. Since you can't figure that out, I'm taking you off."

Scott turned away from Sarah and with a huff, walked off to his car.

Sarah stared after the detective and then she walked back into the building; there was a lot of damage control to do. She didn't even know if the team would reaccept her.

^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%

Ed walked in the quiet lakeside house, the smell of pine and freshly cut plywood tickled his nose. It also cleared his senses as he looked at the barren house, it was small, but large enough to fit man, wife and kid. And during his short vacation time, he usually stayed in the house with his real family.

Ed entered the bedroom where he and Sophia slept, the mattress was barren, no fresh sheets on it, only two pillows at the foot of the bed.

He sat on the mattress and a plume of dust shot up into the air, he sneezed and laughed. He was away from his problems, no ghosts, no terrifying nightmares, he was free. Anxiety crept into his mind though, if he went back to Toronto, the ghosts would be waiting for him, ready like they always were when he returned from vacation.

'_It wouldn't be so bad just to stay here, at least for a long while,_' he thought as he drifted off to sleep again.

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**Poor Scott . . . but I needed to add a bit of drama with him and Sam and Jules. Not saying that Scott's a jerk, he's certainly a testosterone fueled jealous ex-boyfriend, but honestly, he's probably a good detective (most of the time). **

**Ed's going loco for sure :) umm, -stops smiling before I'm run over by angry fans- yeah, so he's unintentionally running from the law. But mainly, he's in the last safe haven he has. Boy does he need a lot of help. **


	6. Warrant

**Thanks for the reviews! Now, please review some more!**

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Detective Grimley sat in the passenger seat of the minivan as it pulled up to the station, she had stayed at headquarters until the end of the shift questioning Ed's co-workers and ignoring multiple phone calls from Captain Kelly.

"You know, I was Ed's friend since we first joined the unit," Wordy said, gazing out the windshield, "and he has a family, a wife and a kid. It's just so hard to believe he could do something like this you know?"

Sarah nodded, "Constable," she said looking at him, "I'm going to do everything in my power to try to convince the prosecutor not to press charges. But Ed's going to need a lot of help when this is over."

"I know, and this time I'm going to stick by him like a real friend." Wordy said with conviction.

Sarah smiled and she started when her cell phone rang for the umpteenth time. She sighed and answered the phone, knowing all too well who it was, "Detective Grimley," she said.

"You've been gone for over five hours Sarah," Captain Kelly's worried voice came over the phone. "Why didn't you answer?!"

"Because," Sarah said, looking over at Wordy who was smiling faintly, "I was questioning several of Ed's co-workers to gain a new perspective on this case."

"But the case was open and shut," came the captain's reply, "I don't know why you need to question these people."

"I'm surprised you're a Captain, you know that?" Sarah sighed, "There's a new wrinkle,"

"Several new wrinkles," Captain Kelly answered, "Cody Garrison has woken up."

"Alright, I'll be at the station in a minute," Sarah said.

"Okay, I'll be waiting." the phone clicked.

"Well, thanks for the ride constable," she said.

"Please, call me Wordy," Wordy replied. He then added, "You're welcome."

Sarah nodded and got out of the car, she waved as Wordy drove off.

"New ride?" Captain Kelly had appeared behind her, Sarah jumped.

"I thought you were going to be waiting, not coming," Sarah accused.

"I got tired, and I was about to leave," Captain Kelly replied. "Now, let's talk," he said.

"You mind if I go back to the station first," Sarah said.

"Alright," he walked up the steps with Sarah and they soon were in his office. "Who wants to begin?"

"How about you?" Sarah said.

"Okay, first of all, Cody Garrison's woken up doctors say you can see him when ever. Secondly, did you just boot Detective Lake?"

"Yes I did," Sarah answered.

"Could you at least tell me why?" the captain asked looking confused, "I thought he was a good detective."

"Yeah he is, but he let his past love life get into his professional, and he ended up damaging my relations with Ed's team."

"Okay, but just be warned, the prosecutor's itching to blame someone for this, and they're going for Ed."

"Yeah, I know," Sarah said.

"Okay, so what'd you learn?"

"Ed's personality has changed in the past few weeks, he's been defensive and irritable. It doesn't look as if he's slept, and he seems to be disconnected from the rest of the world."

"Sounds like PTSD,"

"That was exactly what I was thinking, it'd explain why he went after those three kids they probably spooked him. Hypervigilance is one of the symptoms."

"Well, even if this explains why Ed assaulted these kids, it doesn't explain why he didn't come forward, I mean, he should have, right?"

"Yes, but in times of great stress, people can sometimes exhibit memory loss,"

"The stress being beating up three kids,"

"Exactly," Sarah said.

"We've got to get to Ed before he hurts anyone else, or himself," Captain Kelly concluded.

"We?" Sarah caught onto the plural.

"Well, since you booted your partner, I thought I would come along for the ride," Captain Kelly said, "I get bored supervising you guys all the time."

Suddenly a courier burst in, "Detective Grimley?"

"Yeah?" Sarah said turning towards the man.

"Warrant's in,"

^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%

Ed watched the sun set over the lake, his stomach roiled in hunger and his head throbbed. He considered going to the nearest town to get food but he realized that he didn't have money. He had his service issued handgun in his car locked safely away in the glove compartment, and he briefly considered using it to go hunting but he faced two dilemmas, one was that hunting is virtually impossible with a glock and secondly, even if he did manage to shoot something, he didn't have a fire or anything to cook it with.

There was one thing, rationally, that Ed had to do and that was go back to Toronto, but he couldn't bear to go back to the ghosts, but he had a feeling that if he stuck around any longer, the ghosts would come to him.

^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%

Detective Grimley pounded on the door to Ed's house, "Toronto Police Department, open up we have a warrant!"

She heard the door unlock and then saw Ed's wife standing there with a confused expression on her face.

"Ma'am, we have a warrant for Ed Lane's arrest and to search the premises," Captain Kelly said, "is he in here?"

"No he left yesterday, what is this about? Why is Ed wanted?" Sophia asked worriedly.

Soon Sarah was standing in the living room while Clark and Sophia were sitting in the couch. Sophia had a box of Kleenexes in her lap and Clark was staring at the floor, a blank expression on his face.

"My dad's not a criminal," Clark said after a long while. He was now glaring.

"I know that Clark," Sarah said, "I know Ed wouldn't do this intentionally, and I'm doing everything I am to convince them not to prosecute."

"Then why do you have a warrant out for his arrest?!" Clark exploded.

Police who were searching the downstairs section of the house turned and looked at the detective and Clark.

Sarah gave them a look that clearly sent the message, "_Get back to work_," and then she said calmly to Clark, "Ed needs help, and we need to get to him before he hurts himself or anyone else. That's why we're looking for him."

"Found something," an officer clad in latex gloves announced, he was rooting through Ed and Sophia's room when he found a black garbage bag filled with bloody clothes.

Sarah looked up to see Captain Kelly handling the clothes and putting them into an evidence bag, he was on the stairs and it was fairly easy to see the bloody clothing.

"Is that blood?" Sophia asked, her face was pale.

Sarah didn't answer, she just looked at the captain as he quickly left the house, "Does your husband have a vacation home, or somewhere else he can go to?"

"Yes, we own a lake front cabin near South River, the address is in the kitchen on the refrigerator," Sophia said.

Sarah looked to an officer, who nodded and held up a piece of paper taken presumably from the refrigerator.

"Thank you Mrs. Lane," she said, "We'll get Ed back."

"Don't hurt him," Sophia said, bursting out into new tears.

"We will do everything we can ma'am," Captain Kelly said, "To make sure he's not hurt."

Sarah went to Captain Kelly, "We should go to the cabin," she said quietly so that Ed's wife and kid wouldn't hear.

"That sounds like a good plan, but what about his family?"

"Get a uniform to escort them to a hotel somewhere if they don't have family they can stay with,"

Captain Kelly nodded and went off to get an officer. An officer approached Sarah, "We checked the gun safe upstairs, and it's empty."

^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%

-A few hours later-

Ed had gotten his service weapon from the car and went back to the cabin, he sat on the bed turning it over and over in his hands, wondering what to do.

Suddenly, he heard sirens in the distance that instantly cut off, he looked out the window and saw a procession of police cars slowly drive up to the front of the house. His heart started pounding and he thought that with the police, the ghosts would come. He didn't even know why the police were after him. He locked the door, but knew that that wouldn't deter them for long. He drew out his gun and waited, aiming it at the door.

"Ed's car's there," Sarah said pointing to the black sedan. The patrol cars stopped silently in front of the house as uniformed officers made for the front door.

"Edward Lane," Sarah called out at the door, knocking on it. There was no answer, so she tried again, "We know you're in there Ed, why don't you come out? We can talk."

"Leave me alone! I didn't do anything!" Ed shouted out, his voice was shaky.

"We're here to help you Ed," Sarah called calmly, "it would help if you'd open the door."

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**Ed's barricaded himself inside his cabin! ACKKK! Sorry guys, Ed's out of SRU jurisdiction, so no Greg talking, but the next best thing, Detective Sarah Grimley! :) (Though Captain Kelly's gonna get po-ed about that)**

**I hope you enjoyed that, did this qualify as a cliff hanger? It prly did . . . **


	7. Talk Down and the Fall Out

**Okay, so at Ace Bullet's request, I'm adding Dr. Luria into the mix, and honestly, I don't know why all the detectives except for Grimley are jerks, lol, but no worries, you won't see them for much longer! Oops, in all honesty I didn't know that Ed's wife's name is Sophie and not Sophia, not that that affected the plot in any way shape or form, but thanks anyway iheartflashpoint. So I'm changing some things in the last chapter, thanks for the nitpicks!**

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"Okay Ed," Sarah said after an officer managed to pick the lock, "I'm going to open this door, very slowly, okay? I'm going to show you that I'm unarmed." Sarah had put her gun on the ground and she now was just in a bullet resistant vest.

Captain Kelly grabbed Sarah's shoulder, "What do you think you're doing?!" he whispered angrily, "you're gonna end up dead!"

"Trust me captain, the last thing Ed wants to do is to use that gun," Sarah answered, "I'm going to talk him down."

"But they have hostage negotiators to do that Sarah," the captain protested.

"They won't have the information I do now," Sarah answered simply, she ignored her captain and then turned back to the door; she nodded to an officer who slowly opened it, his gun at the ready.

Ed already was standing there, his gun poised and ready to fire. Sarah held up both of her hands and turned slowly in a circle to show she had no weapon. "I'm unarmed, you see?"

Ed nodded, but he still had his gun aimed at Sarah.

"Ed my name is Sarah, why don't we talk?" Sarah asked, "I'd really like to know why you're aiming a gun at me, and what I can do to have you put it down."

"I want you all to leave right now," Ed commanded, "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Ed," Sarah said, "you may feel that way, but there were three kids beaten really badly, and I have proof that you were at the scene."

Ed wanted to deny it, but flashes of the assault came in before his eyes, he was scared, so he struck back. "I didn't mean to do any of that!" he protested, "I felt threatened by them, so I defended myself."

"I know you did Ed, I talked to one of the kids before I left to talk to you, he said that his friends were out of line," Sarah stepped slightly closer to Ed. Her movements were slow and deliberate.

"Then why are you coming to arrest me?" Ed demanded.

"Because Ed, I now know that you need help, I asked your friends about you, and let me tell you, they're really worried."

"But I'm fine." Ed answered, "I'm fine now. So you can go."

"Ed," Sarah said, "I think we can both agree that you aren't fine, I know what you're going through."

"No you don't," Ed accused, "you're just stalling for time."

"Ed, I got shot on the job, during a court hearing a few weeks ago. I healed up nicely, but I still am having nightmares and flashbacks."

"Not like what I'm experiencing," he said, "no one knows the ghosts that come in the middle of the night, their accusations, the guilt I feel knowing that I killed them."

"Ed none of us blame you for doing your job," Sarah said.

"They do," Ed said, "the ghosts blame me, they're there, waiting for me when I get off of shift, sometimes when I'm on shift, but this place is my only safe haven away from them."

"And Ed, that's not supposed to happen," Sarah said, while remembering her short courses in hostage negotiation, "you have post-traumatic stress disorder, you can get help for this. Your friends and family will be behind you every step of the way, but you have to put the gun down."

Tears were streaming from Ed's eyes, and he faltered, but still held the gun. "I'm a killer," he said, "I killed people. Can I ever forgive my self for that?"

"You're a hero Ed, that's what you are to me, that's what you are to the people who were once hostages. You rescued every member of your team, and now they're ready to rescue you, and I'm here to return a favor to you, because you aren't a killer, you're a hero. So why don't you put the gun down? We can get you the help you need."

Ed finally set the gun on the floor, and Sarah moved forward and got it, Ed had his hands on his head and an officer handcuffed them. They led Ed to an ambulance under Sarah's instructions. He was going to have to get help.

"I can't believe you did that Sarah," Captain Kelly finally said, he looked at the ambulance speeding off down the dirt road to the hospital.

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Sarah replied, she was shaking a small bit. It was the first time she actually negotiated someone down from aiming a gun at her.

"I'm going to contact the prosecutor,"

"Okay, I'm going to go contact Ed's family and team; he needs support after this, could you please urge the prosecutor not to press charges."

"I'll do what I can, but it's out of my hands,"

"I know that, I'll be at the SRU, don't expect me to be back for a few hours," Sarah said, she got into her car and drove off.

^%^%^%^%^%^%^%

"So Ed's in the hospital?" Greg asked as Sarah stood at the front of the briefing room.

"Yes, so he can get the help he needs," Sarah had told the whole story to the SRU team gathered there, and also a few new additions to the group, Wordy had picked up Sophie and Clark, and the department psychologist, Dr. Amanda Luria, was in the corner of the room listening intently to Sarah's description of Ed's behavior. Also, a past member of the team and now sergeant of team two, Roland Cray was in the room.

"Do you know what hospital he's at?" Dr. Luria asked.

"They transported him to St. Patrick's Memorial," Sarah said, "but I'm not sure if they're allowing visitors yet."

"Dr. Luria, do you have anything to add?" Greg stood at the front of the room with Sarah.

"As Detective Grimley said, Ed has post traumatic stress disorder. He needs everyone's support, for him to get through this," Dr. Luria said. A thoughtful silence followed afterwards.

"I'm going to check if they're allowing visitors," Spike said breaking the silence. He got out of the room.

"Okay everyone, let's just go home to our families and wait until we can see Ed," Greg ordered.

"I'm staying here," Sam said, staying seated. His claim was quickly backed up by several of his team mates, "This team is my family," he explained, "And I'm waiting here until I can see Ed."

"Okay," Greg said, he was also not ready to go to his empty apartment and wait out the night until Ed was ready to be visited.

At that word, the meeting ended and different members of the team went off to do different tasks. Wordy called his wife to tell her what happened, Greg chatted with Dr. Luria, Spike was on the phone contacting the hospital, Lou was talking to someone about prayer services and Sam and Jules were intercepted by an entirely apologetic Detective Lake.

"Look, Jules I'm really sorry," Detective Grimley heard Scott say

"The hell you are Scott," Jules snapped back and then slapped Scott.

Scott muttered something inaudible as he rubbed his now red cheek, but it sounded like, "I think I should go now . . ." and Jules answered, "Yeah, I think you should."

Scott slunk out of the building like a dog that had just been kicked. Detective Grimley turned to see Dr. Luria coming towards her.

"May I have a word with you?" the department psychologist asked.

"Sure," Sarah said, looking confused as to why the psychologist was going to speak with her.

"So, you determined Ed had post traumatic stress disorder," she said, "Can you tell me how you did that?"

"A long time ago, my brother was in the army, he was a sniper in his unit," Sarah began. "When he came back, I thought he'd be the same old kid he used to be, but he wasn't. He had a far away look in his eyes, like he was shell shocked, and he also couldn't even sleep through the night. I still heard his screams when he visited overnight." Sarah shuddered, "Then one day, I found him in the bathroom with a gun to his head, luckily, the police got there in time and talked him down. He was diagnosed with PTSD and I had to learn about it to help him get through."

Dr. Luria nodded, "Now, Sergeant Parker told me you were involved in a shooting a few weeks ago, do you want to talk about it?"

Sarah nodded; "Well . . ." she began.

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Ed sat on the bed, he was in the psychiatric ward of the hospital. They had started him on a few medications and he hoped that in a few weeks, he'd be out of the place and back home. He didn't even know if he would be allowed to go back to the team, or if he'd be punished for attacking the three kids.

He lied down on the bed and closed his eyes, he didn't feel angry at himself, or on edge anymore. He began to feel drowsy and moments later, he fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

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**Only a few more chapters, detailing the aftermath of Ed's capture and also whether or not he gets charged w/ anything. Keep up the reviews! Thanks to Ace Bullets for faithfully reviewing since chapter 4! And uniquefreak202 who's the second most frequent reviewer. I know it's not exactly bunnies dancing in the meadows but it definitely is dramatic!**


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